Growing use of Sharia by UK Muslims

The use of Sharia, or Islamic religious law, is growing in Britain, with thousands of Muslims using it to settle disputes each year, but women's groups and some others are objecting.

"You must speak the truth, sister. Because Allah is listening to your every word, you can lie to us but not to Him."

The bearded sheikh is instructing his first client of the day to explain why she is unhappy in her marriage.

Sitting behind a small desk in the back room of a converted terrace house, Sheikh Haitham al-Haddad is a representative of the Islamic Sharia Council, the largest Sharia body in the UK, based in Leyton, east London.